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Robert Richardson: Nobel Winner Dies, Leaving Legacy On Field Of Physics

Nobel winner Robert Richardson has died at age 75, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking work in the field of experimental physics.

The Cornell University professor shared a Nobel Prize for a discovery that involved work on low-temperature physics. His work contributed to research ranging from properties of microscopic mater to astrophysics, The Associated Press noted.

“Bob Richardson was an extraordinary physicist who used his deep understanding of the scientific enterprise to shape the course of research at Cornell and nationally,” said Cornell President David Skorton.

The Nobel winner died Tuesday in Ithaca, New York, from complications of a heart attack.

After growing up in Washington, D.C., Richardson earned his bachelor and masters degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a doctorate from Duke University.

He moved on to Cornell in 1968, holding a number of titles including Floyd R. Newman Professor of Physics and the university’s first provost for research from 1998 to 2003.

At Cornell, the Nobel winner was remembered as a mentor for students and professors alike.

“Bob … was a wonderful person and a great mentor to all in the low-temperature group at Cornell,” Douglas Osheroff, a then-student who shard the Nobel Prize with Richardson, told Cornell news services. “He was a role model for us all, not just in our research, but as mentors to our own graduate students.”

As the Nobel winner dies, he also leaves behind a legacy of pushing sciences in the United States. Richardson was co-author of a 2005 National Academy of Sciences report that called for the US to mobilize resources to ensure it remains globally competitive in science and technology.